


Nomads

by RosalindHawkins



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angelicshipping - Freeform, Child Abandonment, Drabbles, Fluff, Homelessness, Homosexuality, I'm on a boat, Light Angst, Loneliness, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Memories, Obscure Shippings, PWP, Reminiscing, Runaway, Sailing, Sandwiches, Slice of Life, Travel, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:20:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7534267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindHawkins/pseuds/RosalindHawkins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryou Bakura and Rafael have left their past lives behind, and now they travel the world as lost nomads, because the only place they truly belong is with each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oshikuru, Japan

Ryou lay his ear against his lover's heart, letting out a sigh of contentment. He felt large hands gently comb through his white locks, and he tilted his head back to smile up at Rafael. Ryou was grateful to have found him after the fiasco in Egypt. His life had grown somewhat colorless and dull in the following months, the burden of knowledge that he bore isolating him from the rest of the world. When he'd met Rafael, he'd discovered that the broad-shouldered man was just the same way. It made it easier to bear his burden when he wasn't alone in doing so.

It didn't help that he didn't even have so much as a proper family to support him, and without a family, he didn't feel like he had a proper home. Thanks to Bakura, he hadn't had a terribly strong bond with any of his friends in several years, so he didn't even have a surrogate family to cling to, not really.

Rafael was the same way: he lost his family when he was young and lived a long life in isolation. He'd also been subject to an evil spiritual influence that was too powerful for even his strong will to resist. Neither of them felt like there was a place they really belonged, except with each other.

They were truly fortunate to have bumped into each other, since both had become nomadic. It was easier for Rafael, since he had no trouble finding work, but for Ryou, it was a struggle. At the same time, he didn't want to return to his lonely hovel of an apartment back in Domino. He didn't even renew the lease before he left, simply packed up all of the things he cared about keeping in some sturdy bins and rented a small storage unit instead. It was cheaper that way. Then he'd packed a backpack, bought a bus ticket, and hadn't returned. It had been seven months since the day he left, and he was becoming convinced that he couldn't have made a better decision for himself. After all, it had led him to Rafael.

With Rafael, silence was always comfortable and sweet. They understood each other without words, and neither felt a need to fill the silence when it was something worth savoring for its own sake. They traveled together now, and they had just gotten their passports renewed so that they could go abroad. Ryou planned on telling Yugi tomorrow during their weekly phone call.

Ryou still felt kind of bad for leaving as suddenly as he had, but he felt even worse that he didn't actually feel that bad about it. Maybe if the others had made more of an effort to include him, to not forget about him so often, he would have felt inclined to say goodbye to them, or better still, not leave at all. But they had brought this on themselves, hadn't they?

Then he would remember how Tristan and Joey and Yami had all looked out for him at different points in time, protecting him from Bakura, carrying him when the spirit had injured Ryou. He remembered Anzu watching over his unconscious form (thanks to _Bakura_ , he remembered it) and Grandpa watching over him in the hospital. He could even scrounge up positive memories of Marik if he tried hard enough. A sadness crept over Ryou's face as he tried to sort through his complicated feelings.

"Do you miss Domino?" Rafael asked softly, gently taking hold of Ryou's chin in his fingers and tilting his head back so that their eyes could meet.

"I miss… what I could have had in Domino," Ryou answered slowly. "I miss what almost was, but never would have been. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." Rafael kissed him softly and Ryou shifted his position on Rafael's lap so that he could kiss him more easily. Ryou lifted a hand and tangled his own fingers through his partner's blond hair, holding him close and kissing him hard. Whenever Ryou started to get too sad or regretful or introspective, he always sought that which always made him smile again: Rafael.


	2. Villanova, Italy

From Japan to Egypt, from Egypt to Turkey, from Turkey to Greece, from Greece to Italy. Such was the course of Ryou's and Rafael's travels in the past three months. Yugi lay down the last postcard Ryou had sent him and took in the sight of all of them spread over his floor. He'd simply been putting them in a shoebox ever since Ryou started sending them, but as the quantity increased, he decided to organize them chronologically.

Ryou sent Yugi a postcard from almost every town he went to, in addition to them talking on the phone every Saturday. At least, they _tried_ to do it every Saturday. As the time difference between them increased, it was harder to coordinate call times. Additionally, Ryou had ditched his cell-phone and his carrier contract when he left Japan, so he was always calling Yugi from payphones and unable to text each other.

"Thanks for helping me with this Anzu."

"No problem," she replied with forced cheerfulness as she moved away from Yugi's desk to sit on the floor beside him. He started stacking up the postcards from the first month that Ryou was gone while Anzu started inserting the dividers she'd made for his shoebox.

"Do you think he'll ever come home?" Yugi asked a little sadly as he put the first month of postcards into the box. "I miss him."

"We all do," Anzu assured, laying a hand on Yugi's shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

"I still don't understand why he left. He has people here who care about him, and he just abandoned us." His voice quavered, and Anzu pulled him into a tight hug.

"He was used to moving around, though," Anzu said softly. "Thanks to Bakura, he lived in half a dozen places during high school. He doesn't have a family, either. At least not here. Maybe he's trying to find them."

"Wouldn't he have told us that, though?" Yugi proposed, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks. "He doesn't plan on coming back. He keeps sending me money so I can pay the monthly fees for his storage unit where he put all his stuff, but he also told me that I could take whatever I wanted to have from it. Even the Monster World figurines, and you know how much those mean to him!"

"If he won't come back, then we could always go find him," Anzu proposed, stroking Yugi's hair. "If we land ourselves close enough to where he is, then call him up, he'll have no choice but to come meet us. What else would he do, after all? Run away from his friends?"

* * *

"You're sure you don't want to take a break and go back?" Rafael asked as Ryou bit into his sandwich. Ryou had bought their lunch from the deli where he was working this week doing menial labor: dish washing, mopping, cleaning, emptying trash cans, things like that. Rafael was working at the docks doing more physical labor, and they sat side by side on the edge of the pier as they ate.

"I'm sure," Ryou answered once he'd swallowed. "There's nothing to go back to, anyways. I gave up my apartment, so we'd have to get a motel room there just like we'd have to in any town in Europe."

"Except we've been staying in hostels a lot, lately," Rafael pointed out. "And I know you miss having some privacy as much I do."

The smaller of the two men sighed. Rafael was right, of course. In hostels, there wasn't enough privacy to engage in intimacy without having an audience that would see and hear everything. Ryou felt too skittish about doing anything of that nature in the restroom of the hostel or in any public restrooms. They'd been staying in hostels for two weeks now, and both of them were burning for each other.

"Going back to Domino wouldn't solve that problem," he said at last with a shake of his head. "We need to find somewhere else to stay."

"I got offered another job."

"You did? Why didn't you say so?"

"Because I wanted to be sure that you knew what you wanted, and that you wanted to stay on the road."

"What's the job?"

"It's kind of short notice, but it'll pay well and give us some privacy for a few days." Rafael looked at Ryou out of the corner of his eyes. "You don't get seasick, do you?"

"Not terribly. Why do you ask?" Ryou was intrigued, focused entirely on his partner now, his sandwich forgotten.

"Because one of the mariners here wants me to sail his sailboat to Dubrovnik for him. He had someone else committed to doing it, but they backed out at the last minute and launch out tomorrow at dawn."

"Dubrovnik?"

"A port city in Croatia," Rafael explained. "There's no outboard motor on the boat, and she may be small, but she's sturdy and there's plenty of room below deck for us to weather a storm if we get caught in one." A sly smile transformed his features as he leaned in closer to Ryou. "It'll take a few days to get there on a vessel her size."

Ryou's cheeks turned pink with pleasure as his eyes lit up. "I like the sound of that," he murmured, leaning a little closer until their lips brushed together with a faint touch. Rafael chuckled and kissed Ryou's cheek before pulling back and taking another bite of his sandwich. "So, he's paying you, but is he providing us with food, or do we need to get that ourselves?"

"He's covering the cost of food, since we're not taking a direct route. We'll be coming in to port every night. I'm guessing that we'll follow the coast of Italy until we reach Ravenna, when we'll make the jump across the Adriatic. He said he'd show me the map tomorrow when we leave."

"Sounds like an adventure." Ryou's eyes twinkled up at his partner. "When I get off of work, I'll collect my pay from the deli then meet you back here. Then we can go somewhere to eat and pick up anything we think we might need before we shove off. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds _very_ good, _signior_."

They'd both picked up bits and pieces of several languages in their travels, though not in equal degrees. In addition to their fluency in English and Japanese, they both knew at least bits of Egyptian Arabic, Turkish, Italian, and Greek. Ryou knew a bit of French from high school and Rafael knew some Spanish for the same reason.

Ryou had resumed eating his sandwich, but Rafael was still watching him thoughtfully.

"Are you sure that you're happy?"

"Quite sure," Ryou answered, confused that Rafael would doubt him. "I have food, shelter, and I have you. I don't need anything else."

"I'm glad," the older man answered softly, putting an arm around the other's slight shoulders and giving them a squeeze. "So long as you're happy, I'm happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boat smut and a call home await you in the next chapter!


	3. Adriatic Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs mentioned, in order:  
> "Your Song" cover by Ellie Goulding  
> "Moondance" cover by Michel Bublé

"I'm actually glad that thunderstorm sprang up," Rafael said as he lounged on the smooth deck of the small sailboat, watching Ryou as he gripped the bottle of Italian rosé champagne between his knees and twisted the corkscrew. He'd insisted on doing it himself this time. "It gives us a chance to sail beneath the stars."

Ryou turned and smiled at him, his features soft and angelic in the moonlight. "I don't even need that reason to like the storm."

Rafael chuckled as Ryou yanked the cork out of the bottle. "Sometimes I wonder if you're a closet adrenaline-junkie, with the way you love storms and heights and whatnot." He reached up and tugged playfully on the bun of white hair at the base of Ryou's neck.

"Hey!" Ryou's hand went to his hair as Rafael's hand went to the neck of the bottle. "That's cheating!" Ryou cried as he yanked the bottle out of reach. "I opened it, so I get the first sip! That's the rule."

"Oh fine." Rafael gave him an easy smile and draped his arm over Ryou's shoulders. Ryou turned up his nose at Rafael and took a gulp straight from the bottle.

"Wow." Ryou wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "That's really good."

"Don't get greedy now, my little angel." Rafael plucked the bottle from Ryou's hand and took a gulp of his own. "Hm, you're right. I should let you pick the wine more often." Ryou beamed at him and nuzzled Rafael's cheek with his nose.

"Meow."

Rafael laughed again, and corrected his epithet: "My little kitten."

Ryou snuck the bottle of champagne away from him once more, giving his partner a wink before he took another gulp. As soon as he swallowed, he pressed his lips to Rafael's. The larger man groaned and placed his hands on Ryou's hips as the other rose from his comfortable seat beside his lover, and carefully straddled Rafael's waist. "Gods, I've missed you," he whispered between kisses as he sank into place against the other, breathing shallow and heart pounding.

"Wait." Rafael panted hard as he forced himself to focus through the haze of desire. "I have a surprise for you."

"You do?" Ryou blinked up at him in surprise, eyes round and curious.

"You'll have to get off of me if you want it, though." The blond smirked at Ryou and put his arms around him, standing up before setting the slighter male down on the cushioned seat. "Cover your eyes, okay?"

"Do I really have to?"

"Yes, you have to."

Ryou looked at him curiously, then obliged him, covering both eyes with both hands and listening as carefully as possible to try and figure out what he was doing. When one of his favorite songs started playing, he couldn't help but look. Ryou gasped in shock. Rafael had lit hand-made scented candles, the ones Ryou remembered seeing in a little shop in Assisi. He had a small gift box in one hand, the champagne bottle in the other, and a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday, Ryou."

"Oh, Rafi." Ryou was so touched his eyes started to water. "I-I told you that I don't really care about my birthday. You didn't have to—"

"I didn't have to, but I _wanted_ to." Rafael's smile was warm as he set down the champagne by the candles and stepped closer to Ryou. "And do you know why I wanted to?" Ryou shook his head a little, just before Rafael's fingers caught his chin in a delicate hold. "Because I am infinitely happier because you were born."

"Rafi, you're making me cry." Ryou was still smiling though as he pressed his lips to Rafael's cheek. "You're the best."

"I'd beg to differ." He held out the gift box to his partner, waiting expectantly. Ryou wiped his cheeks then took the box from his hand and opened it, without even an inkling of what he ought to expect.

"This is the Sakura Sencha tea I had on Oshikuru, at the little cafe by the shrine," he gasped. "You've had this with you all along?"

Rafael just smiled and said, "That's not all that's in there."

Ryou checked the box and found a tiny giftbox, the kind that accompanied store-bought jewelry. He opened it and smiled again. "These are Venetian, aren't they?"

"Yes, I thought you'd need another pair. You've only had the one ever since you got them pierced in Turkey. I made sure to get the sterling silver ones, so that they wouldn't bother you."

"They're lovely." Ryou set down the box and carefully removed his black stud earrings. He placed them in the box as he replaced them with the new ones. Then he checked the box again.

"I bought the tea infuser at the airport."

"I love it. All of it. Thank you." Ryou set the box down and threw himself at Raphael, embracing him tightly as the taller man smiled quietly. Rafael squeezed the smaller body in his arms before slipping a hand to Ryou's waist and taking his right hand in his own left one. Ryou leaned into him as they danced to the Ellie Goulding cover of "Your Song."

_And you can tell everybody_  
_that this is your song._  
_It may be quite simple but,_  
_now that it's done,_  
_I hope you don't mind,_  
_I hope you don't mind,_  
_that I put down in words_  
_how wonderful life is_  
_now you're in the world._

They only danced to the tail end of the song, but the song that came up next made Ryou perk up in excitement. It was the kind of song that had such a wonderful beat he wished that he knew how to dance properly.

_Well it's a marvelous night for a moondance,_  
_with the stars up above in your eyes._  
_A fantabulous night to make romance_  
_'neath the cover of October skies…_

"Not quite, but close enough," Ryou giggled, then grabbed Rafael by the front of his shirt. "You're going to kiss me now, right?" His doe eyes sparkled with mischief.

"There's nothing else I'd rather do." Their lips met passionately, and as Rafael flicked his tongue across Ryou's lips, he reached up and started tugging at his hair elastic. With a soft whoosh, his long white hair fell free from its bun. Rafael combed Ryou's hair back from his face with his fingers and let his hand settle at the back of Ryou's head, fingers still tangled in his locks. Meanwhile, Ryou's hands trailed down his lover's back until they slid into the back pockets of Rafael's jeans. Ryou shifted his feet closer and rocked his hips against Rafael's thigh, moaning into his mouth. Rafael moved his mouth of Ryou's and kissed his jawline as he released the soft white hair and started tugging up on the hem of Ryou's loose blue t-shirt and yanked it off over his head.

Ryou gasped as a sudden cool breeze blew across the water and sent goosebumps over his skin. Rafael lifted him up into his arms, pressing Ryou's frailer body into his warm, golden bulk. Ryou wrapped his arms and legs around his partner and nibbled at his neck as Rafael carefully went down on his knees. They'd spread a towel out over the deck earlier, knowing what they'd intended to do later and wanting to make clean-up easier, and it saved Rafael's knees from the painfully gritty texture of the deck. Gently, he leaned forward and lay Ryou face-up on the towel, blocking the wind with his own body to keep Ryou from shivering.

"Rafi." Ryou whispered his lover's name through a breathy sigh as the other's lips pressed to his chest, his hot hands gliding over smooth, soft skin. His blood pulsed like fire through his veins, the bulge in his shorts straining against fabric as it ached for his lovers touch. Rafael took his time, though, despite their mutual need. Ryou tugged at Rafael's shirt until the blond finally sat back on his heels and started to strip. He tossed his shirt onto the cushioned seat and looked back at Ryou to see that he was wiggling out of his shorts and boxers. With a chuckle he helped him out of his clothes, then stood and dropped his own pants as well, setting all of their clothes neatly aside after slipping a condom and a travel-size bottle of lube out of his pocket.

"I prepped earlier," Ryou whispered between pants, his face flushed as he watched Rafi tear the foil packet and easily equip himself with the latex. "I'm ready." He resisted the urge to touch himself and instead fisted his hands at his sides. Rafael liked to have the control, and Ryou liked giving it to him, even when he was demanding control over Ryou's own satisfaction. It felt good to trust without fear.

"I told you to stop doing that without me." Rafael chuckled as he knelt between Ryou's open legs. "I would like to watch, one of these days."

"I may be less shy than I used to be," Ryou murmured softly, his face flushed as Rafael slid his hands down the Brit's thighs and lifted one lean leg over his shoulder. "But I'm not a performer, Rafi."

* * *

"Hi Yugi!" Ryou said cheerfully into his prepaid phone as he swung his legs over the edge of the sailboat, Rafael managing the rigging as he maneuvered the sailboat against the current.

"Happy birthday!" A chorus of voices answered him instead of one.

"Thank you." He couldn't help but smile. He was surprised that they'd remembered. "Who all am I talking to?"

"Joey, Serenity, Anzu, Tristan, Marik, Mokuba, and Duke. And me, of course," Yugi added, and Ryou could hear the smile in the warmth of his voice.

"Wow, that's... more people than I thought." He couldn't help but sound surprised.

"So, what fabulous location are you at today, darling?" Mai's naturally sensual purr came through clearly on speakerphone.

"I bet you all can't guess," he replied coyly.

"Are you still in Italy?" Anzu asked promptly.

"Nope!"

"Are you in England?" Mokuba asked. Everytime he asked Yugi and his friends how Ryou was doing, he asked if he was in England yet. He assumed, because of Ryou's accent, that he'd end up in the UK eventually.

"Not even close."

"Are you still in the Mediterranean area, then?" Duke, keen as ever, was zoning in on Ryou's location.

"Yes we are."

"Are you on land or water right now?" Serenity asked, asking the question that nobody else thought was necessary to ask.

"Water."

"Where are you going?"

"Guess!"

"Oh, come on, how are _we_ supposed to know?" Joey asked, having already given up.

"You could be going _anywhere_!" Tristan complained in similar manner.

"If it helps, I'm not going to Narnia or Hogwarts," Ryou quipped, smirking at the bright blue sky.

"Are you staying in Europe, or are you headed for Africa?"

"Europe."

"You should come visit me again next time you're in the area," Marik said, a hint of sadness in his voice. He was the only one who'd let on that Ryou's absence saddened him. The others maintained an air of cheerfulness for his benefit. "Ishizu and Odion would love to see you again."

"Thanks. I will," Ryou replied, his mind slowing as he recalled the visit he and Rafael had paid to the Ishtars during their brief visit in Egypt.

"We give up, come on, just tell us!" Yugi nagged persistently.

"We're going to, oh, dear, I can't remember the name. What was it again, Rafi?"

"Dubrovsky, Croatia," the fair blond answered over the sound of the wind.

"Dubrovsky."

"Where the heck is that?" Ryou couldn't blame Joey's ignorance for not knowing what country the city was in; few people would.

"It's a port city in Croatia. We're being paid to sail a hand-made boat there as a gift for some newlyweds that the mariner knew. It's safer than driving it _around_ the Adriatic, so we're sailing _across_ it."

"How long are you going to stay in Croatia?"

"Don't know," Ryou answered, sounding surprisingly merry. They'd never heard him so happy before. In the past, they'd known him as someone who was nervous, cautious, withdrawn. He hardly seemed like the same person. "We don't have any plans at all. We go where fate takes us."

"But you _will_ be going to England, right?"

Ryou grinned broadly and replied, "Yes, Mokuba, I imagine that we _will_ be going to England someday."

"Will you send me a postcard when you do?" Mokuba pleadd hopefully. "I really want to go, but Seto won't send me to boarding school and he won't let me go alone, but he says he's too busy to take off work right now." Mokuba's plea ended with a theatrical sigh as he slumped against the armrest of the couch. He perked up against a moment later and said, "Maybe when you do go to London, I can fly out to meet you there!"

Ryou laughed and gave an indulgent answer to the child he'd always had a soft spot for: "I would like that. It'd have to be okay with your brother, of course."

"Right."

"Ry, I need your help with the sails," Rafael called, making Ryou turn to look at him and nod, then start to climb back onto the deck.

"Sorry, guys, I have to go. We're caught in a cross-wind against the current. I'll call back in an hour, okay? I picked up a prepaid cell in Villanova and I still have plenty of time on it."

"Okay, call us back as soon as you can!"

"Goodbye!"

"We miss you!"

"Be careful!"

"Have fun!"

"Come home soon!"

After Yugi hung up, Tristan whacked Joey on the back of the head.

"Hey!"

"'Come home soon?' Was that really the best you could come up with?" Even Tristan realized that what Joey had said was entirely tactless.

"Well it's true!" Joey retaliated with a spark of anger as he rubbed the back of his head. "We all want Ryou to come home, don't we?" He looked around the room and received nods, both reluctant and otherwise.

Meanwhile, Ryou, whose hands were wrapped to prevent rope-burns and whose hair was tied back to prevent wind-induced tangles, was helping Rafael tie down the sail. He turned his face up to the sun, his skin already kissed by its rays, and felt hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, sakura sencha tea is a kind of cherry blossom green tea. I just liked using the alliterative title better. ^-^


	4. Postcards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A selection of postcards from Ryou to Yugi and his friends over the course of several months. All places mentioned and foreign phrases used are legit.

"I had no idea that Croatia was such a beautiful country!" Ryou enthused as he scrambled up the rocky cliffside of the tiny off-shore island where he and Rafael had docked temporarily, just for a quick adventure before meeting their employer at the docks so he could reclaim the boat he'd built with his own hands.

Rafael was following behind him, chuckling a little at Ryou's eagerness.

"I'm so glad we came!" Ryou's eyes lit up when he noticed a thick tree with low branches, then dashed towards it. "I bet I could beat you to the top!" He easily stepped onto the lowest branch and started hauling himself upwards, Rafael following him a laugh and climbing up the opposite side of the tree.

"Did you climb a lot of trees when you were a kid?" Rafael asked as he watched Ryou scramble up the branches with the agility of a squirrel.

"Not even once," he answered cheerfully. They never talked about their pasts; it was one of their unspoken agreements. They'd both been lost because of where they come from and what they'd endured in their lives, and since those things had saddened them, there was no benefit in speaking about them. Rafael didn't need to know that Ryou had hosted the evil spirit of a thief who'd sold his soul to the devil thousands of years ago. Ryou didn't need to know that Rafael was the only one who'd defeated Yami in a fair duel and sent Yugi's soul to be sacrificed to the Leviathan. They did share some small snippets of information now and then, but only voluntarily.

"How about you?" Ryou asked as he made sure his foot wouldn't slip off the knot he was trying to use as a foothold.

"I climbed trees all the time." On the desert island where he'd lived in total isolation, naturally, but he hadn't climbed any trees before then.

They continued climbing upwards until Rafael couldn't find anymore branches that could hold his weight and Ryou wasn't sure enough of his skills to go any further. They sat on separate branches, looking out over the trees on this island to the sea that surrounded them and the populated coast and the numerous tiny islands that dotted the coast.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ryou sighed, smiling with contentment.

"Not as beautiful as you."

Ryou glanced over at Rafael, who'd been looking at him while he was enjoying the vista. The sincere smile that softened Rafael's features made Ryou blush and look away again.

"Thank you," he murmured. After a few moments of swinging his legs, he said, "Come on, let's get going. We don't want to keep him waiting, now do we?"

* * *

Dubrovnik, Croatia  
Dear Yugi,

This is such a gorgeous city! It's definitely worth the visit, if you ever get the chance. It has a Medieval/Renaissance feel with all the old fortress structures still around. Rafael and I are getting along alright, since a lot of people here speak Italian.

Stammi bene,  
Ryou and Rafael

* * *

Budapest, Hungary  
Dear Yugi,

This city feels like something out of a modern fairytale. I saw someone at a bar last night who looked just like Duke, which was crazy. I had to do a double take. His ears weren't pierced, though, so I knew it wasn't him.

Sincerely,  
Rafael and Ryou

* * *

Bran, Romania  
Dear Yugi,

We visited Dracula's castle yesterday. Tbh, I've always wanted to go. The national symbol of Romania is a green dragon, so we see them all over! It's the kind of place to be if you want to write a fantasy novel. In a landscape like this, it's easy to believe in things like fairies, dragons, and vampires. Hope your grandfather feels better!

Toate cele bune,  
Rafi and Ry

* * *

Žilina, Slovakia  
Dear Yugi,

Ryou's feeling crummy, so I'm writing this one. He had a bike accident and chipped his two front teeth pretty badly, so we'll be staying in town for a month or so until his crowns are ready. (Ryou's telling me to stop talking about it.) In the meantime, he requests that you get his MW figurines from his storage unit. He wants to sell some of the rarer ones online in order to pay for the dental work. If you could email him pictures of them and ship them to the buyers, it'd be a huge help. I'm running out of space, so we'll talk on the phone to work out all the details.

С уважением,  
Rafael

* * *

Brno, Czech Republic  
Dear Yugi,

After your help with selling the figurines, I thought you deserved a proper thank you, so I enclosed some goodies in this little package for you. Even though they're in Czech, I thought you and Joey would like these Duel Monster cards. It's getting harder to get along in these Eastern countries. We're mostly depending on our Greek and Rafi's Russian and German—and interactions with other tourists—to get through. We've decided to go further west, so letters might take longer to reach you.

Nejsrdečnější pozdravy,  
Rafi and Ry

* * *

Normandy, France  
Dear Yugi,

I'm so sorry I haven't sent you one of these in months! Things have been so busy lately. Ever since we joined a traveling circus in Eastern Europe, life's been crazy. Good, but crazy. You can tell Mokuba that we're finally on our way to London, and one of the booster packs in this package is for him. Even if they're not useful cards, I hope you guys like them!

Love,  
Rafi and Ry

P.S. Look closely at the bottom right corner of the poster. ;)

* * *

"That's Ryou!" Mokuba exclaimed after a few moments of inspecting the circus poster they'd been sent. "He's an acrobat now? That's so cool!"

"Acrobats who perform using ropes like that are called aerialists, I think," Anzu corrected gently. She was just as surprised and impressed with this turn of events as the others were.

"I'm glad that they've got steady jobs now," Yugi said, looking relieved. "I was really worried about them before. It must be hard to keep finding small jobs you can do when you're moving around so much in foreign countries."

"And in the UK, Ryou will have citizenship," Anzu reminded him. "So hopefully that will help them out somehow."

"Maybe I could get my brother to let us use our private jet to fly to London to see them." Mokuba looked excited at the prospect, and everyone else in the room perked up.

"Do you really think he'd let us?" Yugi asked curiously.

"So long as we're back before school starts again, I don't see why not." Mokuba beamed. "We should surprise them, so don't say anything about it, okay?"

"Okay, we won't," Yugi promised. He felt greatly encouraged by Mokuba's offer; Yugi missed Ryou more than anyone else. It was hard to believe that he was alright without seeing him in person.


End file.
